UK Government makes visiting even less attractive – 8% increase in passenger duty from today

The BBC reports that the UK Governments increase in Air Passenger Duty comes in today.

For economy short-haul flights, the tax has increased from £12 to £13. For long-haul flights between 2,000 and 4,000 miles, it has gone up from £60 to £65. Flights between 4,000 and 6,000 miles has risen from £75 to £81. On flights above 6,000 miles has increased from £85 to £92.

At Heathrow, American Airlines has for several years collected the increased amounts of tax where a passenger uses miles or certificates for an upgrade. Recent reports indicate that the post merger United Airlines has started to do the same.

I particularly love this clause from the information about APD:

2.6.5 Seat pitch

Where a seat pitch exceeds 1.016 metres (40 inches), whether the flight has a single class or more than one class, the standard rate of APD applies.

For these purposes seat pitch means the distance between a fixed point on the seat and the same point on the seat immediately in front of it. Where there is no seat immediately in front of the seat, the seat is to be treated as having the same pitch as the seat immediately behind it.

Possibly the first time the UK Government has become worried about seat pitch!

@Levi Flight – No but the pretense is that is an Environmental tax, despite taking no account of efficiency of the aircraft, and working to encourage the airline industry to fly more to shorter destinations.